The first thing you have to do is find the place.
Yet, people who already know about Ravanesi’s line up an hour before they open as if they were waiting for tickets to the most popular rock star in the world.
How we found out about it
Word of mouth.
It can make or break a business.
The first time we heard about Ravanesi Pizzeria was a good year before we ended up going there. Friends of ours mentioned how this was the best pizza around. They told us that you have to be quick about the pizza because they sell out quickly.
About six months later was the next time we heard the name Ravanesi. Of all places, we were at Total Wine in Delaware doing a wine tasting paired with pizza (but not Ravanesi that night). One of the hosts mentioned that Ravanesi was one of his favorite pizzas. Once again, we were prompted that this was a place we should go to for sure.
Fast forward another few months. I saw it on one of the local Facebook community message boards where once again the name Ravanesi Pizzeria (link to Ravavesi Pizzaria Napoletana FB page) was mentioned several times by several different people.
Having heard it from three independent sources, we were sufficiently intrigued to the point where we at least had to find out where this place was located. But we also knew we really needed to get there.
It was clear before we even got there that word of mouth is making this business, and for good reason.
About the place
Every time someone told us about it, they told us that the pizzas sell quickly. They all said it was best to order the dough ahead of time and that Ravanesi did not do take outs. What does “order the dough ahead of time” even mean?
We finally decided the date to go and invited friends of ours to join us for the journey of pizza exploration.
First task was to go on-line to check their website for their hours. They open at 4:30.
I figured I would call a little earlier, just to see if anyone answered, and, they did! They don’t take reservations, but they do allow people to “reserve their dough”. So, I reserved our dough, but not before she asked how many in our party. When she found out it was 4, she recommended reserving 3 “doughs”, which we did.
She asked when we would be arriving. We said about 5pm, and she said we’d probably be in the second seating.
Second seating, a half hour after they open.
At this point we figured we would just have to take our chances on how long the wait would be.
Finding the place
Ravanesi Pizzeria is not just difficult to find. It is located on the very end in a very small shopping strip. It doesn’t help that if this shopping strip could easily be missed if you blink your eyes. We’ve been in the area for years, and had no idea the building was there.
After passing this area several times, I finally managed to locate exactly where it was before our first trip here.
We got there around 5:00. Only a half hour before the pizzeria officially opened. As we walked up to the door, the first thing we notice was the sign posted on the door, “SORRY, WE ARE SOLD OUT OF DOUGH”.
About the place
Ravanesi Pizzeria is not a large place. When we got inside, every seat was occupied.
Of course, that isn’t hard to do when there are only enough seats for 28 people. That explained why we would be the second seating.
We were greeted with the smiles of the people who work there, this particular night it was Nicole, Kristin, and Gianna. We were told that we had a wait of about 1 hour and that we were welcome to wait at the restaurant. Or they could take our cell number, go somewhere else and they would call us when it got closer to our seating time. We chose the later and found another location to wait.
We decided to come back a little early and our table was close, but not quite ready yet. There were open seats for waiting only directly next to the pizza oven, so we sat there. As we watched the staff interacting with the seated people, we realized they obviously had a number of regulars.
We saw there was one guy whose sole job was making and cooking pizzas. About one minute into the conversation we found out it was Dave Ravanesi, the owner himself. He starts work at 9am, and they close around 9pm. Dave doesn’t miss a beat. He talks to you while simultaneously and busily making the pizza.
The place was frenetic, but incredibly organized. Nicole and Kristin were busy with their smiles, keeping everyone taken care of.
About the food
When all a restaurant serves is one item, it has to be good to stay in business. When you consider how many pizza places there are, it better be really good pizza, right?
While we were talking with Dave, he described that he was seeking to emulate a Naples style pizza. He said he uses only fresh ingredients and he exclusively used ingredients from Italy – sea salt, olive oils, tomatoes, flours, all from Italy. The Naples style offers a lighter crust, but still excellent flavor. Dave even makes the mozzarella cheese himself!
Earlier when we talked to Kristin, she mentioned they make 102 pizza doughs (by the batch). Because of the way the dough cures, they have to make them 2 days ahead of time for each day they’re open. So when they’ve sold the dough, they’re done, hence, this is why reserving your dough is important.
Nicole seated us and got us settled in.
We were just starting peruse the menu when she brought us a small Rosso Verde pizza for an “appetizer” to see if we like the consistency of the crust.
Ultimately, the three pizzas we ordered were the Salsiccia, Soppressata Piccante, and one with half Bianca, half Marinara with cheese. While we were ordering the couple in back of us mentioned that the Margherita was good, but the Marinara had more spices and didn’t have cheese. So if you order the Marinara, be sure to add cheese if you want it.
The pizza was delicious. Full disclosure, when we were in Italy in 2016, we weren’t able to make it to Naples to compare their pizza with Ravanesi.
However, Ravanesi pizza was similarly fabulous to the pizza we had in Venice, Italy.
Regulars
It was obvious there were a number of regulars that come by. You could tell when people said “See ya next week!”.
Nicole said they estimate a little over 50% come back regularly. After experiencing Ravanesi Pizzaria personally, we understand why people go back.
We certainly will. The pizza was well worth the wait and left us thinking about the next time.
Word of mouth makes this business successful and they’ve earned it, all 5 years.